


The Runaway and the Daemon

by FangsofLightening



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Beauty and the Beast Elements, Daemon!Ravus, M/M, Slow Burn, running from a bad situation, will add more tags as needed
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-09
Updated: 2019-02-24
Packaged: 2019-06-07 22:09:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,054
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15228966
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FangsofLightening/pseuds/FangsofLightening
Summary: While running away from his situation in Niflheim, Loqi arrives at Castle Fenestala in the former territory of Tenebrae. With nowhere else to go, he enters the castle and soon learns of a curse placed on the castle and it's inhabitants.





	1. Just One Night

**Author's Note:**

> I love Beauty and the Beast, and I've been wanting to write this for a while but couldn't get satisfied with the first chapter. So, feedback would be really appreciated.

Chapter 1: Just One Night

Running in the snow for hours just wasn't a good idea. But he hadn't had any choice in the matter. Not with those men chasing him. Loqi rubbed his side again as he looked back. Just because he couldn't see them didn't mean they weren't close. Exhausted as he was, Loqi had no choice but to keep moving. 

Tripping over a half-buried root startled him from his thoughts as he hit the ground hard. With a groan of pain, Loqi pushed himself back to his hands and knees. He had to get back up and keep moving. If he was lucky, he could reach a train station and.... do what exactly? With the way things were, he couldn't run to Lucis. 

His ankle hurt like hell when he put weight on it, but a quick check assured Loqi that he hadn't somehow broken it. He didn't particularly want to walk on it, but... There wasn't a choice to make. 

Little over an hour later the forest opened up. A wide bridge crossed the chasm in front of him. A wide, partially broken, snow-covered bridge leading to a beautiful old castle. 

Loqi had seen pictures of Tenebrae. From what he recalled, it looked like the elven lands of fantasy. Not an extension of Niflheim's frozen wasteland. He could wonder about that later. 

"Just one bridge and you're safe," Loqi assured himself. 

Crossing an old crumbling bridge covered in ice and snow with strong winds blowing was not high on his to-do list. In fact, it was one of the dumbest ideas he'd ever had. Almost as dumb as running away in the first place. Nevertheless, he took a breath and took the first step onto the bridge. A castle would be a nice place to hide out in for a while. 

It took him nearly an hour to safely cross the bridge. As careful as he was, his foot had slipped once near the end and Loqi's heart was still pounding from the near death experience when he reached the front stairs.

Staggering up the staircase made him realize just how exhausted he was and it took everything he could muster to push open the door without collapsing. 

"Thank Shiva I made it." 

Loqi pushed the door closed, leaned back against it, and sank to the floor once he was safely inside. He was still shivering, but the lack of wind made the cold more bearable. His ankle was also throbbing with constant pain. At least now, he could rest and stop putting weight on it. 

A few minutes passed before Loqi noticed his surroundings. It was oddly warm for an abandoned castle... and the entry hall was spotless. As if it had just been cleaned earlier that day. 

Loqi slowly got to his feet again.

"Hello?" 

Of course there would be no response. Even if anyone was hanging around near the entrance hall, why would they wait for an intruder to say something first? It would make more sense for them to have said something first themselves. 

A door opened before Loqi could cross more than half the room. Turning, Loqi saw an older woman hurrying over to him. By her attire, Loqi felt safe in assuming she was a servant. 

"So there is someone living here. I apologize for-"

"There's no need for apologies." The woman smiled and motioned for him to follow. "You must be freezing. Come right this way." 

A little old woman wasn't going to hurt him. He wasn't making himself the protagonist of a horror story by following her. 

"Are you hungry?" 

"I am actually." 

She nodded and led him into the dining room. There was a fire burning in the fireplace, which Loqi was grateful for and sat himself as close to as possible.

"You stay right there and I'll be back with something warm." 

Loqi barely registered her leaving, too busy checking out the room he was in and ignoring his ankle. 

There wasn't much to look at. Large windows lining one wall and framed with blue curtains showed that it was still snowing outside. What Loqi would call the essential decorations for a dining room: chandeliers over the table, candles, one wall had a clock over the door so Loqi figured the castle was more modern than the outside made him think. 

The servant woman returned to place a bowl of soup, a cup of something hot, and a few muffins in front of him. 

"I wasn't sure how much you'd be wanting, but I trust this might be fine for the time being. I can always make more." 

"It's plenty, thank you." 

Loqi wanted to ask her a few things, but feeding himself would have to be his top priority. Hopefully it wasn't poisoned. 

The servant woman was in and out of the room while he took his time eating. At times, she inquired about his health. If he was heating up all right, the fact that he looked exhausted. Loqi smiled and responded as honestly as he could. 

He had just finished eating and was looking at his ankle again when he learned who's castle he was in.

"Now that you are looking better, I must inform Lady Lunafreya and Lord Ravus of your presence. Feel free to look around the castle in the meantime." 

Loqi was doing just that, and wondering where all the decorations were, when he heard footsteps behind him. They were heavy, deliberate, and once again Loqi found himself thinking back to the few horror movies he'd seen. 

"What are you doing here?" 

The voice had a strange, inhuman growl that did nothing to assuage Loqi's fears. Turning to look at them didn't either. 

Black, pulsing, daemonic stuff covered the man's left side. The black tears Loqi assumed were permanent didn't lessen the glare of his completely black eyes. One horn curved off the left side of his head; which looked like it would make him unbalanced, but he didn't seem to be having any troubles with it. 

Loqi's eyes widened and fear made him want to run, but he'd done enough running and maybe he wasn't as dangerous as he looked? Loqi swallowed some of the fear and spoke as steadily as he could. 

"I was running from some people and ended up here." 

"You are not welcome here." 

The exact opposite of what the servant had been saying.

"Just for a while, and I'll go." As much as his ankle wouldn't appreciate it. As an afterthought, he added; "Please?"

Lord Ravus- Loqi was assuming this was him- stared at Loqi. The gaze was unsettling. Like the things back home, soulless eyes watching and- No, more like him. Calculating, analyzing, like he was looking into his very soul. Discomfort mixed with the fear and Loqi hated the feeling. 

Whatever Ravus was looking for, he found it before Loqi gave in and squirmed in discomfort. 

"Very well. I want you gone tomorrow morning." 

A night could be plenty of time. Maybe. Not for his ankle. 

Ravus motioned for Loqi to follow, and Loqi did. If Ravus had told him he could stay, surely he wasn't in any danger of getting killed by a pair of daemons. 

For lack of anything better to do, Loqi studied Ravus' backside. Muscled. Not too big, but definitely not small either. The front had been great to look at as well, now that he was thinking about it. Under that stuff, Loqi had no doubt that Ravus was an attractive man.

"Does that stuff go into your pants as well?" 

Ravus' response was a glare over his shoulder as he kept walking. It looked as though it might, so Loqi would just take that as a yes. 

Looking around at the walls as Ravus led him.... wherever he was leading him, reminded Loqi of another question. 

"Where are all the decorations? I thought there would be more of them in a castle. At least to have something more than light blue wall everywhere you look. Walking around is less boring if there are things to look at." Loqi didn't pause long before speaking again. "Oh, when was the last time someone fixed your bridge? It's in terrible shape. I nearly died trying to cross it. The outer walls look so old, too. I know it's freezing out there, but you could at least make an effort-"

"Are you capable of silence?" 

Loqi grinned at Ravus.

"I can be." 

"Then be." 

The next few minutes passed in uncomfortable silence. Now that Loqi wasn't attempting a conversation, he had no choice but to focus on the persistent throbbing of his ankle. Walking so much on it after twisting it would do that. Astrals knew he had to pay more attention to his body's signals. He was also more tired than he had realized. Running through snow for hours, it was really no wonder. In hindsight, he was impressed he hadn't gotten himself sick. Although... Loqi's fingers brushed against his right wrist for a moment before he pushed it from his mind. That reality was something he never wanted to think about again. 

"You may use this room for the night." 

Loqi pulled himself back to his hopefully not a horror film reality and looked at the door Ravus had stopped at. It was as plain as the rest of everything, but at least it was dark brown instead of more blue. 

Pushing open the boring door revealed a spacious bedroom. It was well-lit once Loqi flipped the light switch, and comfortably warm. Large windows lined the far wall, paintings hung on the walls, statues decorated the corners, and the expected bedroom furniture stood out against the marble walls. The bed was bigger than any Loqi had seen in a long time. 

"Thank you," Loqi said. 

Ravus responded with a huff and shut the door. Loqi pulled his boots off and set them to the side. 

The bed was the first thing Loqi went to. Sleep was calling him, and he planned to answer as soon as possible.


	2. Be Our Guest

Chapter 2: Be Our Guest

Loud knocking on the door woke Loqi from his sleep. Face still in the pillow, he stared in sleepy offense at the partially obstructed far wall.

"Ravus demands you join him for breakfast." The voice wasn't the servant from yesterday. "I wouldn't keep him waiting if I were you." 

Demands. Of course he would demand. 

"I'll join him in a few minutes," Loqi said loud enough for them to hear. 

Loqi rubbed his eyes and sat up with a stretch. After the exhaustion had caught up with him yesterday, he really didn't want to be awake yet. That had been the first time in his twenty years that he'd fallen asleep as soon as lying down. 

Carefully setting his feet on the floor, Loqi tested putting any weight on his ankle. It still hurt, of course. He really shouldn't have stayed on his feet for so long after he fell. Loqi leaned down to get a look at it, gently touching it and grimacing. That also hurt. At least it wasn't broken... 

Another stretch and yawn, and Loqi stood. If Ravus was impatiently awaiting his presence at breakfast, he had better get moving. And skip on showering. As much as he definitely needed one, keeping a daemon waiting was just asking for trouble. 

Deciding against pulling his boot on over his ankle, Loqi combed his fingers through his hair on the way to the door.

The dining room was as plain as it had been yesterday. Sunlight came in through the windows, and there was still a fire burning in the fireplace. Ravus occupied one of the seats with nothing but a cup sitting in front of him. Still as daemonic as yesterday, and thankfully not looking too annoyed. 

Loqi gratefully took his seat, which was already prepared for him with a plate of pancakes and cup of... something. It wasn't juice. Or water, the color wasn't right. Maybe tea?

"Did you have a pleasant sleep?" 

Loqi looked across the table to Ravus and nodded. 

"I did."

Loqi set the cup back down and decided to get started on the pancakes. Ravus had said he wanted him gone in the morning, so he'd better eat. Unless, well, there had to be some reason Ravus had told him to join him for breakfast. It'd be strange for Ravus himself to eat with him before sending him on his way. Heck, Ravus didn't have to feed him at all before sending him away.

"Lunafreya wishes for me to allow you to stay longer," Ravus said. "However. You mentioned that you were on the run, and I must know why before allowing you to stay any longer than you have already." 

Fair enough. Loqi would want to know the same if this was the other way around. 

"I was in a terrible situation at home." It wasn't exactly a lie. "So, I left. Father apparently wants me back so badly he's sending people after me to drag me back to Gralea." 

"Running from abuse." 

Technically, it could be called that. For him and the others in the program. Loqi shoved more pancake in his mouth- he needed to compliment the chef- to avoid saying anything more. Thinking about it was not going to help. 

"With that being the situation, you may stay here for as long as you require." 

"Thanks. I'm Loqi." 

"Ravus Nox Fleuret." 

Ravus stood with a sigh. 

"The room you slept in last night shall be your room for the duration of your stay. I will inform the staff to assist you with anything you require, and you may go anywhere you like. Except the gardens." 

"Why can't I go in the gardens?"

Those sounded much more interesting than what he'd seen so far. 

"I forbid it."

With that not explanation, he left the room. 

Loqi turned to gingerly place his foot on the seat beside him and continued his breakfast. 

If he listened to his ankle he was going to be doing a lot of lazing around anyway. Not wandering around gardens to see how they're still alive in this awful weather. Unless they was indoor gardens, which would actually be pretty cool. 

It wasn't long before he heard the clicking of heels on the floor and a curvy woman in form fitting black and red armor entered the room. She set down a plate of pancakes covered in fruit, sat down, and gave him a smile. 

"You must be the guest. What's your name?" 

This was who had woken him up earlier; he recognized the voice. 

"Loqi."

If the table wasn't so wide, he would've reached across to shake her hand. 

"Aranea Highwind. I'm the Commander here, for what little good that does me stuck on this hunk of rock."

"Stuck?" 

Aranea nodded and took a bite of her breakfast rather than offer any farther explanation. 

In a way, he supposed it made sense. He didn't have to be here long to know there was something strange going on. It also explained why the bridge was in such need of repair. Aside from the awful weather, of course. 

"How are you stuck?" 

She gave him an almost annoyed look, continuing her breakfast for a few moments longer before speaking again. 

"Those of us that have lived here since before that night can't leave. The only ones allowed out are the poor souls that become daemons. Ravus being the only exception." 

So people became daemons here too and magic definitely qualified as something strange going on. Even if that was intentionally vague. 

"What is the story with Ravus?" 

Aranea smiled and Loqi knew before she even spoke that she wasn't going to tell him. 

"That isn't my place to say. You'll have to ask him yourself."

Loqi sighed. With nothing better to do, he watched Aranea. She was definitely older than he was by a few years. Platinum hair framed her face, with the back of it pulled up and the sides of her bangs hanging to her shoulders. 

"So what's your story?" Aranea asked. 

"I was in a real bad situation, and ran away. Eventually, I ended up here and Ravus said I could stay as long as I need to." 

For a few moments she stared at him, green eyes narrowing slightly in accusation. 

"Sounds like there's a lot you aren't saying." 

Rather than give a proper answer, Loqi shrugged and averted his gaze to his ankle again. He really didn't need the commander suspicious of him. But he really didn't want to talk about what he'd run away from. 

"There something wrong with your leg?" 

"I twisted my ankle or something yesterday. It isn't broken, but it still hurts." 

Aranea hummed in acknowledgement, but didn't say anything more until she was finished with her pancakes. 

When she was, she left her plate there and walked around to Loqi. He looked up at her and watched as she looked at his ankle herself. Her touch hurt just as much as his had, but he ignored the pain and let her examine him, just like he always had. 

"I'm no expert, but putting something on it would help." She stood again and motioned for him to stand. "I think it's time for you to meet Lunafreya." 

***

It turned out that Lunafreya was another perfectly human inhabitant of the castle. A beautiful woman, with clear blue eyes and a gentle face framed by soft light blond hair. Her smile was kind and reassuring, and she was the exact opposite of Ravus. 

Honestly, he had been half expecting some kind of daemon to be awaiting him. 

"I'm pleased to know Ravus allowed you to stay with us," Lunafreya said. "Your ankle will be as well." 

"I didn't damage it too badly, did I?" 

He watched as Lunafreya released his leg and stood. 

"Fortunately not."

She leaned over to meet his gaze with a reprimanding one of her own. 

"I understand your situation, but you really ought to pay more attention to your body. I want you resting as often as you can. Do not push yourself."

"Yes Ma'am." 

The scolding frown was replaced with a smile and she straightened.

"Now stay there. I'll get you a compress for your ankle."


End file.
